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>> Sunday, September 9, 2007

An article today in The News Tribune commemorating the 10th anniversary of The Grand Cinema as a non-profit theater. It was a bit weird seeing Soren Andersen in the lobby interviewing volunteers a few weeks ago. He's not very tall, maybe 5'6", but very recognizable with his curly hair and glasses.

The quotes at the end of the article are the Grand as I know it today:

The best part about volunteering there? “Meeting people.” Volunteers like to ask moviegoers how they liked the films they’ve just seen and discuss the pictures with them. “And you’re helping the theater, helping it survive,” DeHart said.“The most rewarding aspect,” she said, “was meeting and chatting with the people that work there,” all of whom are knowledgeable about film.

“I really felt like I was expanding my knowledge about film while I worked there,” Lupher said.

Moviegoers at the Grand feel the love as well. Ted Baer, a Tacoma dentist who says he attends movies “as often as I can,” said, “The attraction is it seems like it belongs to Tacoma. There is a sense of ownership.

“You feel like it’s kind of a throwback to the way theaters used to be in terms of it seemed like they were independent … rather than just a franchise.”